


An Act of Mercy - day 2 Snow

by ravendiana



Category: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Gift Giving, M/M, Mild Angst, snow is bad for snek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-03 15:23:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21655618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravendiana/pseuds/ravendiana
Summary: Aziraphale finds Crawly in a place he really shouldn't be.
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 53





	An Act of Mercy - day 2 Snow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Waywren Truesong (waywren)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/waywren/gifts).

Aziraphale walked through the silent white world smiling at all he saw. It was like She had graced the top of the mountain with a glimpse of heaven. The clean soft whiteness that blanketed everything made the bare rock look like it was made or cloudstuff. It was a new thing a world made of new things, and like most of them, it delighted him. The view looking out over the world was the closest humans would ever get to flight, he supposed. He noted abstractly that is was very cold, and the air quite thin, it would be difficult for them to spend time this high. These peaks would belong only to the strong and brave, a reward for great risks. 

He continued walking and more of the snow began to fall. Falling it was like the rain, but it whispered where the rain shouted, it covered where the rain washed. He loved the world, and already wouldn’t want to go back to heaven, but this was like combining both places and he felt immensely at home. He spread his wings to let the sun bake them through the cold. He felt he belonged here, a white thing in this white world, feet on the Earth yet so near Heaven.

As he gazed around himself he saw something that did not fit. The line of black looked like a branch at first, but the trees here would not flash those hints of bright red. He hurried over and saw Crawley stretched out on a rock, slowly disappearing into the falling white. "Crawley what are you doing here?“ His voice came out harsh. The demon didn’t belong here. He was confusing enough down among the humans, but this place seemed too close to Heaven for a demon’s presence. Crawley didn’t answer. He didn’t respond at all. Aziraphale stalked forward. "Are you ignoring me? What are you doing here?!?”

He walked right up to Crawley and looked him in his yellow eye, and still the serpent didn’t respond. His anger began to drain away. He shouldn’t be concerned for this demon, yet he found he was. Crawley lay so still Aziraphale wasn’t sure he was even, what, not dead, but not in that body anymore either. He found he was far more disturbed by that idea than he should be. He brushed white powder off black scales, his fingers brushing the smooth slickness, the first time he’d touched the demon, or any demon. He was mildly surprised nothing bad happened. 

Crawley felt very cold under his fingers, that couldn’t be good. He picked the long serpent up and draped him around his neck. He picked his head up and set it on his shoulders and headed down the mountain. As he walked slowly Crawley started to move. Just a few twitches at first but with increasing frequency. When he finally lifted his head and looked at Aziraphale, the angel stopped walking and let him slither down to dry, warmer ground. As soon as he was fully detangeld, Crawley shifted into his humanlike form.

“What were you doing up there?” Aziraphale asked again. Crawley muttered something unintelligible. "What?“ He asked again.

"I said, it looked pretty, all right." The demon answered, looking away. "It was all soft and white, and it reminded me of something. I don’t know what, but I wanted to see it. What’s the big deal?”

“The ‘big deal’ is that you nearly got yourself,” he searched for a suitable term, “discorporated. I don’t think your serpent shape can go up there.” Aziraphale knew exactly what the mountaintop had reminded the demon of, and wondered if he truly didn’t remember or was just saving face. He wasn’t supposed to feel sorry for demon missing Heaven. He was discovering that “wasn’t supposed to” was something he wasn’t very good at.

“Why didn’t you let me?" Crawley asked.

"Let you what?”

“Get discropo whatever? Why’d you pick me up and carry me down a mountain?”

That was a question Aziraphale didn’t have a good answer for. He couldn’t just come out and say, 'I didn’t like the idea of you not being around’, that just wasn’t a thing you said to a demon. And he doubted 'I’m suppose to help all living things’ would fly in this situation. "You didn’t seem like you were supposed to be up there,“ he finally said. It was true, the place seemed lethal to the serpent, you aren’t supposed to be places that are lethal.

"Ah, of course,” Crawley seemed to have taken his words a different way. “Sorry for soiling your mountain with my carcass. I’ll just be off then." He turned and walked further down the mountain. Aziraphale wanted to call out to him, to stop him, but really, what could he have said. What could he have said out loud, anyway. 

*** Roughly 6,000 years and one almost apocalypse later ***

Crowley walked into the bookshop to see Aziraphale surrounded by post boxes and practically vibrating with excitement. "What’s all this then?”

“Gifts!” the angel chirped. “I thought about waiting for Christmas, but it’s not even the right day anyway, so why wait. Open them, dear, do.” He was past vibrating and was practically bouncing. Crowley actually let himself smile. The gifts could be dirt and ashes, and he’d love them just for how happy Aziraphale was to give them. He reached for the smallest box first. 

“Battery operated electric socks? On the one hand, socks are the most cliche mom gift ever, but I do hate cold feet.” He opened the next one. It was a battery powered self heating vest. "I’m beginning to sense a theme here,“ he joked. The vest was followed by self heating trousers and a self heating hat. Finally Aziraphale handed him an envelope. In it were plane tickets to Switzerland and a paper showing reservations for two weeks in a mountain cabin. He looked up.

"I thought it would be nice if you could see the snow, without freezing this time." Aziraphale said. 

"I dunno angel,” Crowley replied, his own voice oddly horse. “I kinda liked the way I got warmed up that first time. It was the first time you ever touched me." He pulled the angel into his arms, resting his head on his shoulder. Aziraphale carded his fingers through Crowley’s hair.

"I will be happy to cuddle you warm any time, but I would feel better knowing I would find you mostly frozen the first time I take my eyes off you. Snow is lovely, but not very healthy for snakes.” He smiled a bit wickedly then. "Perhaps we should spend most of our time admiring it from the hot tub.“


End file.
